


Be my queen, I’ll be your dream

by SkyTintedWater



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, F/F, Femslash, Misses Clause, Same-Sex Marriage, Yuletide Madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 06:52:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12812028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyTintedWater/pseuds/SkyTintedWater
Summary: A mysterious stranger arrives at the gates of Summersea. Who could it be?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Artifactrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artifactrix/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _I JUST WANT DAJA TO BE HAPPY AND HAVE PEOPLE IN HER LIFE WHO LOVE HER A LOT, OKAY?_  
>  Me too, artifactrix. Me too.  
> Happy yuletide.

_The 26th day of Goose Moon_  
The year 1044 KF  
Summersea  
City Gates 

When she arrives in Emelan it starts to rain. She hopes this isn’t an omen.  
Slowly the water seeps into her pack, her clothes, her hair, making everything sodden and heavy. Definitely bad.  
But when she turns her face to the sky, the rain washes her face clean. All the muck and dust she’d picked up from her travels — gone. Like it had never been.  
Maybe it’s a good omen after all. 

***

Finding somewhere to stay is difficult — her stack of coins is dwindling faster than she expected and she can only afford to stay in the third-rate inn for a week.  
She hopes she can find Daja before then.  
She hopes that Daja will take her in.  
Munching on a hot bun and the last wedge of cheese from her bag, Rizuka fa Dalach steps into the city and starts her search.

***

Someone points her in the direction of Artisan’s Street. There are so many forges and workshops she doesn’t know where to start. She walks to the end of the street and works her way down, asking at each shop.  
They’ve all heard of her — she isn’t considered a Great Mage (whatever that means), but she’s done great things and is known for her dedication and hard work, a quality more important to the smiths than the ability to, as they put it, ‘make the old look young and the fat look thin’. But although they know _who_ she is, no one seems to know _where_ she is.  
It’s getting dark, and Rizu hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks. She decides on one last shop before she goes to bed.  
The young man inside has a friendly smile and waves her inside. ‘Hello, my name’s Kirel. Can I help you?’ he asks.  
Before she can answer, someone calls him and he heads to the back of the shop. Another young man steps forward. ‘Sorry about that. Do you need something?’  
‘I’m looking for Daja Kisubo. I’m an old friend. Do you know where she lives?’  
The young man shook his head. ‘I know she lives in the city but that’s it. Sorry.’  
Rizu nods sadly and goes back to the inn. 

***

_The 27th day of Goose Moon_  
The year 1044 KF  
Summersea  
Green Dragon Inn 

She means to rise early but the weeks of living rough in Gansar are taking their toll and when Rizu opens her eyes it’s all she can do to sit up. Even that small effort makes her dizzy and she falls backwards, asleep again before her head hits the pillow.  
The next time she wakes her head is hot, her feet are cold and she can’t see properly. She recognises the symptoms of fever and the small part of her brain that is capable of functioning curses. She doesn’t have the money for a cure.  
But lying in bed won’t help her either. So Rizu drags herself out of bed, picks herself up from the floor and knocks on the innkeepers door until she answers.  
‘Sick? Best to try the Urda’s House down the road. They treat the sick for free.’ She slams the door shut, no doubt fearful of catching the disease herself.  
Rizu knows that’s all the help she will get and starts down the street, stopping every few steps to catch her breath and wishing fervently that she was still in the palace, where she could summon a healer with a single bell and be cured while lying on her comfortable, over-large bed.  
Finally at the Temple door Rizu enters, tripping over the entrance and sprawling across the floor. She wants to stand but she used all of her energy getting here and now she gets to suffer the indignity of being lifted by two healers and carried to a bed which is scarcely nicer than the one she left at the inn. At least this one has healers, and even if they pour nasty tasting drinks down her throat and pester her whenever she tries to sit up, they look after her.  
She sleeps, and when she wake a young man is staring at her. His slanted grey-green eyes are intense, and familiar. Rizu assumes this is the fever. But her head is clear and when he smiles it all falls into place.  
_‘Viynain_ Moss?’ she asks, her voice hoarse in her throat.  
‘Briar. I thought we’d had this conversation already. How are you feeling?’  
‘Tired. Sore. Better than this morning.’  
‘Good. How did you get here?’  
Rizu turns away. ‘I walked.’ She doesn’t want to say anymore and Briar, bless his heart, doesn’t push.  
‘Do you have anywhere to stay?’ he asks instead.  
‘Green Dragon Inn. My room is paid until the end of the week.’  
‘You know Daja has a house here?’  
She nods. ‘I’ve been searching for her. I wanted to …’ There are so many things she wants to do, to say, that she’s overwhelmed. Briar nods again.  
‘I’ll speak to her tonight. I’m sure she’ll want to come and visit.’ He pats her on the hand before he leaves. 

***

_The 28th day of Goose Moon_  
The year 1044 KF  
Summersea  
Urda’s House 

Rizu stays the night and when she wakes in the morning she feels better than she has in a long time. The healers give her her clothes back - freshly cleaned - and send her on her way.  
She isn’t entirely surprised when she sees Daja waiting outside Green Dragon Inn. She keeps twirling her staff as if she’s nervous.  
It’s possible she is. Rizu is, or was, right up until Daja turns and looks her way. When their eyes meet they smile, and the separation between them melts away as though it never happened. Their embrace is warm and comforting and perfect and Rizu never, ever wants to let go. But gradually they realise they are taking up room on the street and the people around them (who are clearly enjoying the spectacle) would also like to get past. They duck inside and run up the stairs to Rizu’s room, giggling as they go.  
Rizu has waited so long to hear Daja laugh again.  
They sit side by side on the bed and it isn’t until then that Rizu realises how small the room is. Daja has the frame of one who’s always been big, and her years of smithing have made her even broader. That had been one of Rizu’s favourite things about her — all the other women in Berenene’s court had constantly worried about their size, yammering on about how much or how little they’d eaten until Rizu’s ears ached. But Daja was more interested in filling her belly so she could get back to work, secure in the knowledge that her body was perfectly suited to the purpose she’d worked towards.  
‘How long have you been in Emelan?’ asks Daja.  
‘A few days. I don’t know how long I was in Urda’s House.’ As she speaks she rests her hand alongside Daja’s, so their fingers just touch. The other woman doesn’t move away.  
‘How did you get here?’  
‘I walked.’  
‘From _Namorn_? When did you leave?’  
Rizu clasps her hands in her lap. ‘Daja, I … want to tell you everything. But not today.’  
They sit in silence until Rizu stomach gurgles, embarrassingly loud in the quiet room.  
‘How about lunch?’ asks Daja.  
Together they leave the room, and this time when their hands brush against each other, they hold tight and don’t let go. 

***

_The 2nd day of Rose Moon_  
The year 1044 KF  
Summersea  
6 Cheeseman Street

Rizu stayed at her lodgings until her week was up, despite Daja’s repeated insistence that she didn’t have to. But her coin has run out and so she carries her meagre possessions to Daja’s house, which is even nicer than Daja had described. The garden is so lush it spills over the fence and into the street and the third story window is open, presumably to admit the grass dragon flying in and out of it.  
Rizu smiles. She’d missed Chime.  
Before she could knock the door opens. Briar is there, smelling strongly but not unpleasantly of soil. He waves her inside, points towards the kitchen and then hurries away with a cry of, ‘Can’t leave Rosethorn waiting!’  
She helps herself to the pot of tea and stares around her, uncertain. Then she realises how stupid she is being. This is her home now, and there’s no reason to feel self-conscious.  
Daja is in the forge, of course. Lit by firelight and swinging a hammer the size of Rizu’s arm, she looks like one of the gods, all-knowing and untouchable.  
She looks up, sees Rizu and smiles. The illusion is broken and she becomes Daja again, belonging to Rizu and _very_ touchable.  
‘Are you settling in all right?’ Daja asks politely.  
Rizu nods, which Daja can’t see, since she’s gone back to hammering at her sword. ‘Yes. I moved into the spare room, if that’s all right?’  
Daja nods and shoves the sword into the fire. Rizu realises she isn’t going to speak anymore so she goes back to her new room.  
At her desk, Rizu writes down all of the fabric shops and seamstresses she’s seen around the city. Tomorrow she will go and ask them if they have work for her. She’s grateful for the room but she won’t live on anyone’s charity ever again. She came to Emelan for two reasons - Daja, and independence. 

***

Briar and Rizu fall into an easy rhythm they hadn’t shared in Namorn. And Sandry, when she visits, treats Rizu like she treats everyone: with kindness and respect.  
But she cannot seem to reforge her old relationship with Daja. In Namorn they’d been quick to become friends and moved even quicker to lovers but here and now, when they have a chance to make a real relationship, there is a distance between them that Rizu doesn’t know how to name, let alone bridge.  
So one night after dinner she quietly asks Briar if he will go for a walk. He winks at her and says he was going to spend the night with a friend anyway. Rizu thanks him and steps back inside.  
Daja sits alone by the fire, a book in her hand. She looks up when Rizu comes in and asks, ‘Where’s Briar?’  
‘He went for a walk. You and I should talk.’  
Daja nods and closes her book like she’s been expecting this.  
Rizu sits beside her, takes her hand, breathe deeply and begins. Everything pours out of her: how her standing had been lowered bit by bit until it was clear she was no longer under Berenene’s protection, the kidnapping attempt, fleeing to Ambros, him smuggling her across the border, Rizu’s month and a half of living rough and camping in the mountains before finally making to to Emelan and safety.  
‘Even before I found you I thought things would be okay. I’ve heard there’s plenty of work here and I’ve always been good at weaving and embroidery. I knew I could make a living here, a life that no one can take from me. I still think that. But I … Daja, I want you in my life. I still love you.’  
Saying those words has always been terrifying to her. But Rizu promised herself she’d be honest, and that’s what she’s trying to do.  
Daja squeezes her hand. ‘Rizu, what happened in Namorn shook me. My whole family. Sandry was kidnapped twice, Tris was almost killed … and I know you didn’t have anything to do with that, but seeing you brings those memories back. However,’ she says as Rizu pulls back, ‘I know you aren’t to blame. For any of it. So, maybe we should start slow.’  
Rizu smiles, with relief and with love. ‘That sounds good,’ she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started in a very different place than I pictured, but the end was the same, and I’m happy about that. I hope you like chapter two!


	2. Chapter 2

_The 12th day of Carp Moon  
The year 1049 KF  
Summersea  
6 Cheeseman Street_

So much has changed in 6 Cheeseman Street in the last five years. One of the biggest was Briar moving out. He’d declared one day that the garden was too small and bought the house next door, joining both gardens together. He was even thinking of buying the house behind his for the garden as well and opening a proper shop for his _shakkans_. Tris had agreed with his plan but warned him that if those customers tramped through _her_ own little area they’d be tasting lightning bolts.   
She’d come back from Lightsbridge two years ago and immediately set up her own shop on the High Street selling charms and potions, just like she’d always wanted. She had three mages working under her and a young woman with no magic skills but a smile so winning she could — and did — sell just about anything. Meanwhile Tris took whatever profits she hadn’t saved or invested and spent the rest on magical research. Her current project was a collaboration with Daja, trying to recreate the metal tree they’d made by accident so many years ago. Their current attempts weren’t much good but they were both hopeful.   
Daja owns her own forge but doesn’t run it. That had been her intention until she realised that doing the paperwork and sorting out people’s problems would mean very little time for what she called ‘good, honest work.’ No, Daja created everything from two-handed swords to jewellery so delicate it looked like a single breath would shatter it. She also had more orders than she could fill for her living metal designs - an arm with a blade hidden inside, a mirror that spoke, a brush that combed your hair while you slept (she wasn’t actually working on that last one). She hired someone to do the paperwork for her, then hired a second person when the first was was caught thieving. (He’s currently serving time in the Duchess’ prison. She doesn’t take kindly to people who take advantage of her family.)  
And the Duchess of Emelan? Well, the former Duke had waited until his youngest son Franzen had sailed off to the Yamani Islands before he changed his will, naming Lady Sandrilene fa Toren his heir and the next to rule over Emelan. Gospard, the Duke’s eldest son and now High Admiral of the Navy, made no comment at all besides a short message congratulating his cousin on her new role. Sandry had reportedly been surprised but accepting. Her first act as Duchess was to hire Rizu as her Wardrobe Mistress.   
Rizu was flattered but graciously turned it down. Her own business was booming and she had not one but three shops in town and another about to open in nearby Hajra. She’d missed a lot about her old life in Namorn when she’d first arrived, including the ability to make sure people were clothed in pretty, flattering things. Soon after she’d given some clothing advice to an ageing dowager who’d been so pleased she’d hired Rizu to redo her whole wardrobe. That lead to another customer, and then to more and then to so many she’d had to hire help just to keep up.   
All of them were content in their lives until the day Daja was hired to create matching wedding rings. As she inscribed the names of the so-to-be wedded couple she thought long and hard about her future and what she wanted it to be.   
At home, she kisses her lover and holds her close.   
‘Rizu, will you marry me?’ she asks.   
‘Of course!’   
They spend the next few days planning the wedding and arguing good-naturedly over everything (Daja wants it to be just her family and former teachers while Rizu wants to invite everyone she’s ever worked for) when a sudden thought stops Daja.   
‘Can we get married? Legally, I mean?’   
Rizu stops too. ‘I … I thought we could. Isn’t that why you asked?’   
Sandry comes for dinner that night and Daja asks her if her marriage would be legal. Sandry is as surprised as she is. ‘I’ve never heard of a wedding between people of the same gender. Let me ask my advocates.’ The conversation lulls until Tris tells them a funny tale about her assistant and what happens if you spill a few drops of love potion on a charm for protection.

***

_The 14th - 17th days of Carp Moon  
The year 1049 KF  
Summersea  
The Duchess’s Citadel_

Sandry shakes her head in disbelief, something she’s been doing a lot lately.   
‘Never?’  
‘I can find no record of two people of the same gender getting married,’ says her chief advocate. ‘If your friends want to get married, you will need to make it law first.’   
All afternoon and for much of the evening Sandry embroiders everything she can reach, keeping her hands busy while her mind works, perfecting her argument and thinking of every possible rejection of her idea so she can counter it.   
When she’s finished she stretches her back and wriggles her fingers until she can feel them properly. Her mind set, she goes to bed, determined to tackle this problem first thing in the morning.   
When she’s awake again (and after her breakfast) Sandry calls a meeting of her councillors. As soon as they’ve sat down she lays out her plans, running over their potential arguments in her head, ready to use any and all of them if need be.   
When no one objects she feels wrong-footed, like expecting a stair where there isn’t one. But she rallies magnificently.   
‘Then we are agreed. A new law will be drawn up by my advocates and put in place by Sunsday. Is there any oth—’  
One of the ministers — Trumble, thinks Sandry — is raising his hand sheepishly, as if he isn’t sure about what he will say next.   
‘What about traditional marriage?’ he asks.   
‘What about it?’  
‘Well, won’t it be affected by this new law?’  
Sandry and all of the other ministers look at him as if he has gone mad and he lowers his hand again.   
‘Never mind,’ he says quickly, looking away.   
‘This meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for your help,’ says Sandry. She leaves the room, putting Trumble’s ridiculous suggestion from her head.   
She has excellent news for one of her sister- _saatis_ , and she wants to deliver the news in person. 

***

_The 14th - 17th days of Carp Moon  
The year 1049 KF  
Summersea  
Winding Circle Temple  
Discipline Cottage_

In the end, both Rizu and Daja got their way. The only guests invited to the wedding were Daja’s family, their former teachers and some of their new students. And afterwards there was a huge party planned in the Duchess’ Citadel where it seemed that half the town was planning on showing up.   
But Daja wasn’t worried about that now. In fact, she wasn’t worried about much at all. As Lark fixed her braids in place with a final pin, Sandry smoothed a wrinkle in Daja’s russet coloured tunic and stepped back, admiring her work. Even Tris was smiling, although her concerns were about the storm threatening to break that afternoon. Sandry sends word back to the Citadel so the servants can move everything inside.  
Hugs are exchanged, tears are wiped away (mostly by Sandry) and then the women leave Daja in peace.   
She takes a deep breath and lets it out. Smiling, she steps through the opening in the tent flap and walks up the aisle towards her blushing bride, ready to start this new chapter in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this artifactrix! Originally it was just going to be the first chapter but since same-sex marriage is being debated and harassed and lied about in my country (at the time of writing — hopefully by the time you read this SSM will be a law and we can all get on with our lives), I thought I’d throw in the second chapter. So far as I can tell no one in Emelan or any other country seems to care about anyone’s sexuality but I’ve seen no evidence that same sex marriage is legal anywhere. I didn’t think Sandry would stand for that. 
> 
> I did a bit of research on medieval law (it wasn’t helpful) and the political situation in Emelan (also pretty unhelpful). So I decided that Sandry has the final say in all matters but keeps a council of advisors who will helpfully point out if she’s going mad with power. Minister Trumble in no way reflects my ideas about a certain Prime Minister. Nope. Not at all. 
> 
> Title is taken (sort of) from Bmblb by Jeff Williams


End file.
